A little bit of encouragement for me and a little bit of entertainment for you!

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Falling In "Like" Again...

"Folded Shure SRH840" by Minseong Kim - Own work.

It's been a week and a half since I joined the gym. I joined TWO gyms in fact and have determined I like one much more than the other one so instead of rotating between the two, I'm probably going to allow the special I signed up on at the other gym run out without the benefit of the personnel seeing my smiling face. The gym I'm staying with is really more my style.

They greet me when I come in but don't get all up into my personal space. There are enough equipment all around that I'm not fighting for the treadmill I choose to do my cardio on. There is a "stretching" area I use after my cardio workout and it's tucked off to one corner of the room so I don't look like a contortionist on display as I try to stretch these older muscles into some resemblance of a lean, mean butt-kicking machine.

I had my doubts I would like going to the gym. I would have argued with you a mere week ago that it was going to be a real challenge to go and I would have to force myself to get up an hour earlier every day to put myself through torture for the sake of a healthier body. But that wasn't the case.

Discovery about oneself is an exciting thing and I've discovered one really cool thing about myself over these past two weeks. I have fallen in "like" with going to the gym. I have a playlist of songs I really enjoy listening to and I will ramp up the treadmill to 3 miles an hour (maybe not a lot for others but definitely a challenge for a chubby momma like myself) and will do pushups against the handlebars while I rock out to the music. And oh yeah, I do this all while I keep my eyes closed and sing silently to the music.

I'm sure I probably look silly, but I have come to the conclusion that I really don't care. This journey is about me and if I'm going to look like a sweaty beached whale for a little while at the gym I might as well have fun while I'm doing it!

What do YOU do to make going to the gym more fun? Share with me in the comments below...

In one bowl, mix together the egg yolks, the 3 T. of Cottage Cheese OR Cream Cheese and the one packet of Sweetener until smooth.

In the other bowl add 1/4 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar to the whites and beat the whites on high speed until they are fluffy and form nice peaks.

Very carefully fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites until mixed, but try and not break down the fluffiness of the egg whites too much.

Spray two cookie sheets with Pam or other fat-free cooking spray.

With a large spoon, "scoop" the mixture into 10 even rounds on the sheets (about the size of the top-half of the McDonalds hamburger bun; roughly 3/4 inch thick and 4 to 5 inches across).

Bake on the middle rack. Here is when you have to watch them, because the cooking time the same on any two batches. It is somewhere around 1/2 hour, but it could be less or more. You just need to watch them until them become nice and golden brown (again, the color of a McDonalds bun).

Remove from the pans and cool on a rack or cutting board.

While warm they are crumbly and similar to cooked meringue - but don't let this fool you! Once completely cool, seal them in a ziplock storage baggie or a tupperware over night. They will totally change their consistency, to something much more like bread - a softer texture that is nice and chewy. If you do not like softer chewy bread, then eat them as they are, nice and crisp.

Since the sides that were facing the pan are perfectly flat, you use these to spread things on, or make sandwiches, or even as a burger bun! The choice is up to you, and you will be quite amazed at how much like a bun these really are!